by Gillian Joy
"I can't just walk out Mark, I'll lose my job."
"You don't need that job Ash. Haven't I always taken good care of you?"
Ash didn't say what she was thinking, that he had done anything but take care of them.
"I'll be out in a minute." She said quietly.
"See that you are." Mark didn't add a threat, but Ash heard it anyway.
She hung up the phone, her thoughts racing at a mile a minute. She glanced at the time. Two o'clock. He must have just gone into the school and picked the girls up. Although he wasn't on any of the enrolment forms as a contact, she had never had him listed as a banned person either. If the office staff asked the girls who the man was, they would have confirmed that he was their father. They had no idea what he was capable of. Two o'clock also means that Lydia and Jamie would be changing shifts about now. She prayed Mark had no idea they were following her; she didn't know how to warn them what was going on but she didn't think she'd be able to give them the slip. Best case scenario, they see her leave, realise something is wrong, follow her and call the police. Worst case scenario, they didn't even see her leave and she's on her own.
She pulled her bag and phone out of her locker and slammed the door shut. She looked at her phone briefly before pressing the power button three times, automatically sending an emergency alert to Connors phone, he had set it up and shown her how to action it when he had given her the new phone. Then she flicked it to silent and dropped it into the bottom of her handbag. She was sure Connor would ring her straight back to check she was okay as soon as he got the message, but she didn't have time to even talk to him. She had no doubt Mark wouldn't hesitate to use the gun if she didn't get out there immediately. She walked quickly through the store with her head down, out the front doors, ignoring everyone as she went. If she did lose her job over this, she didn't really care. If they didn't understand that her girls were the most important thing in her life bar none, then in truth, she wanted nothing to do with them anyway.
****
Connor was in yet another meeting with Declan and the other music execs at Sound. They were having more and more issues with Andrew and it was garnishing too much bad press. Connor had stuck his neck out for the band when he had been signed with the record label but Andrew was jeopardising everything. Declan was making it clear they were only really interested in Connor, and they would quickly replace the band if Andrew didn't get his act together.
"I'll talk to the rest of the band, maybe they'll be up for replacing him. I don't want to lose them Declan."
"I get that Connor, I really do. But this is the last chance. No more okay?"
"Yeah, okay." Connor replied as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He'd put it on do not disturb before he went into the meeting, so it really shouldn't be buzzing at him. He pulled it out of his pocket and his stomach dropped, all colour draining from his face when he looked at the emergency notifications coming in.
"Connor, are you okay?" Declan asked.
Connor called Ash, telling himself it was an accident and she accidentally hit the emergency alert. She'd answer and let him know it was a false alarm.
"Connor?"
Ash's phone rang, and rang, and rang, no answer; his stress levels rising considerably more.
"Connor?"
"Emergency alert from Ash, I need to make sure it was an accident but she's not answering." He double checked the alert which put her location at work. Okay, that had to be a good sign right. He called Hayden.
"Hey Cuz,"
"Can you see Ash?"
"What?"
"Can you see Ash, right now?"
"No, why?"
"I received an emergency alert from her and now she's not answering."
"Hang on, I'll call you right back."
Connor sat back and tapped his fingers nervously on the desk in front of him.
"Connor?" Declan interrupted his thoughts. "She'll be fine. Startrust are still following her right?"
"Yes." Connor hissed in relief, he'd totally forgotten about them, even if there was a problem, they would be on top of it, Connor was sure of it.
He picked up his phone to call Liam, just to check in, then he realised he didn't want to miss Hayden's call, so he sat back with a sigh again and waited. What felt like hours later, even though it was no more than three or four minutes, Hayden finally returned his phone call.
"She's not here."
Connors grip on the phone tightened.
"What do you mean she's not there Hayden?"
"She disappeared; apparently she walked out of the store carrying her handbag. It wasn't even five minutes ago, but apparently she's in deep shit now with Anne."
Connor started shouting.
"How could you let her just walk out… She's in your care there Hayden…. You're supposed to watch over her at work…!"
"Stop shouting at me Connor. You think I'm not worried too? This isn't my fault. What about your security?"
"Sorry." Connor apologised, "I know it's not your fault. I'll call them now."
"Keep me updated Cuz."
"I will."
Connor hung up and scrolled through his contacts till he found Liam's number. The call went straight to voicemail.
****
Jamie pulled into a parking spot two spaces up from Lydia. In a matter of moments her passenger door opened and Lydia plopped down into the seat.
"Anything happening?" She asked.
"Not a bloody thing. This has turned out to be one of the most boring jobs ever, and it had shown such promise."
Jamie chuckled as she ran her hand absently up and down the steering wheel.
"Sometimes boring is good." She commented.
"Yeah, I guess. No, you're right. I know you are but it is still boring."
Jamie saw Ash come out through the front doors of the store.
"I thought she wasn't supposed to finish till three?"
Lydia, shrugged and they watched as Ash climbed into the passenger seat of a sleek black Audi.
"That can't be good." She said. "Call her!"
Lydia pulled out her phone and called Ash's number.
"Voice mail." She said.
"Not good at all, buckle up." Jamie commented as she pulled up Liam's number on the car display via the phones Bluetooth. She pulled the car out of the parking space and started following the Audi discretely.
"Hey, I didn't lock the car!" Lydia called.
"Too late now," Jamie replied, "looks like you'll get your excitement."
The phone rang through the cars speakers.
"Jamie?" Liam answered.
"Ash Cross left work an hour early and got into an unknown black Audi, she isn't answering her phone."
"Crap, please tell me you are following it."
Ash rolled her eyes, "Do you have so little faith in me?"
"Of course not. I knew you would, just checking. Where's Lydia?"
"Here." Lydia replied.
"Why?" He sounded frustrated.
"I was in the car, briefing Jamie, when Ash left. We followed it immediately."
"Okay."
"Umm, you might want to go and pick up my car."
"I'll get someone onto it as soon as I can."
"Probably sooner rather than later."
"What! Why?"
"I might not have locked it."
"What?"
"Jamie was parked near me, did you really want us to wait while I pulled the keys out and locked it?"
"Where are the keys Lydia?"
"In my pocket." She said, tapping her hand on her leg to check before wiping her hand back across her brow and mouthing "phew" to Jamie. Jamie shook her head with a silent chuckle.
"Did you get the plate number?"
"His hot." Jamie replied. "H.I.S.H.O.T."
"Crap. That's his. I'll call Connor, and the police. You stay on them. Do not lose them under any circumstances. Are we clear?"
"Crystal!" They both replied.
"God, he hates me."
Lydia said as soon as the call was disconnected.
"No he doesn't."
"Well, he doesn't trust me."
"Oh he does, very much so, why do you think we got this job? Connor Maise is a huge client for Liam, he could have put anyone on her."
"Because she wanted female guards."
"No. Because he knows we're the best there is, at what we do. He doesn't even know we're here, and that's exactly what Liam needed for this job. Hugh and Brant are huge, and would have been able to protect her far better than we could, but they stand out a mile. He would have spotted them and run a mile."
"I'd rather be watching Connor Maise." Lydia said.
Jamie glanced at her quickly as a smile spread across her face.
"What? Tell me he's not hot as?"
"Oh he's definitely hot as, and I get to watch him most nights."
Lydia looked back at Jamie and frowned at her smug grin.
"Have you seen him shirtless though?"
"No." Jamie sighed and pulled her mind back to following the sleek black Audi with their client inside it, and wondered why Ash would have voluntarily jumped into the car with the man they were supposed to be protecting her from.
****
Liam tossed up between calling Connor Maise or the police first, but decided that since Connor was his client, and his girls had the pursuit under control, he'd call Connor first.
"What the hell is going on?" Connor demanded as soon as he answered the ringing phone. It didn't even occur to him that he hadn't even left a message for Liam when he had called, so he probably had no idea what was going on.
"I was hoping you might have some information for me Connor." Liam said. "Jamie and Lydia called me, Ash left work early and jumped into a strange car and left."
"What? No. She sent me an emergency alert. Something is wrong. Where are your guards, why didn't they protect her?"
"Hold on Connor, you asked us to be discreet, they were observing only and interfering would cause a serious scene, besides they didn't even have time."
"What do you mean they didn't have time? Liam where the hell is Ash? This is on you."
"Connor, calm down, we're still following her okay? Jamie and Lydia are on it. They know where she is. But Connor…" Liam paused, scared as to how Connor might take the next bit of news. "It's Marks car she got into. She's with him."
"No. She wouldn't."
"Connor, she did. Why would she go with him?"
"She wouldn't, not voluntarily. She is terrified of him."
"Yeah I got that, but she did."
Connor briefly explained the story of the gun to Liam so that he would understand how certain Connor was that she wouldn't go with him by choice.
Liam said nothing as Connor retold Ash's story. He couldn't believe anybody could do something so heinous, and especially to their own daughters and babies at that.
"Liam? Was there anybody else in the car?" Connor asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Were the girls in the car with them? Does he have the girls? They are the only reason she would go voluntarily."
"I don't know, give me some time and I'll get back to you."
"I'll call the school."
It took forever for Connor to get through to someone at the school who could finally tell him that the girls had been picked up early from school by their father. The vice principal assured him that the girls had verified that the man was their father before they let him take them, there were no restrictions in place to prevent him from picking them up and he was, quite frankly, over justifying himself to someone who wasn't a parent or guardian of the girls. Connor told the man to expect to hear from the police before hanging up on him. Then he called Senior Sergeant Callum.
****
Callum decided to detour via the girl’s primary school on his way back to the station. He knew if he reported in first, in all likelihood he would be told there was nothing they could do, but he wanted to check it out, especially since he now knew what the man is capable of. Even though the school probably had every right, he had to let them know they were wrong. He pulled into the school ten minutes later.
"Hi can I help you?" The woman behind the counter asked.
"Is the principal available please?"
"I'll go and see. What is it regarding?"
"Sarah and Beth Cross."
The woman's face fell. "He was their father! He had identification, they knew him. They we're happy to go with him."
"Are you the one who authorised it?" He asked.
She nodded shyly, she was an older woman, maybe mid-fifties and had the whole school Marm look down pat, her dark hair pulled back into a harsh bun, wire rimmed glasses sitting on the tip of her nose.
"Were you aware Ms Cross had an interim intervention order out against her ex-husband?"
"N-n-no." She stammered.
Tyson called the station as soon as he pulled away from the school. He wanted Mark Cross brought in for breach of the interim order. Again! He had men sent out immediately to his office and his home, they had a warrant put out on his car registration and he was personally on his way to his office. He didn't expect him to be there, but he would do his best to put the wind up the prestigious law firm. At least when this went to court, there would be a pretty good chance Mark Cross would be facing jail time. Not a lot, but hopefully enough that it would deter him from going anywhere near her again in future.
Even though the girls weren't part of the interim order, and damn he was cursing himself for not adding them at the same time, and even if Ash had voluntarily gotten into the car with him, it didn't matter. He broke the order being in the car park of her work place to begin with, and he broke the order if he even let her in his car. Although the law firm hadn't technically done anything wrong, he would make sure they knew that they could consider themselves responsible if anything happened to Ash Cross or her daughters. He was pretty sure Mark Cross wasn't interested in the girls at all, but he hoped and prayed they didn't end up as collateral damage. And he prayed he could get to Ash in time.
****
Chapter 24
Ash sat in the front passenger seat of Mark’s car, terrified for her life. Her fingers gripped the handle on the door tight enough to turn her knuckles white, while her other hand held the bottom of the seatbelt so tight that her fingernails dug back into her palms. The girls giggled and chatted away, oblivious in the backseat.
"Where are we going Mark?" she asked quietly.
"Queensland."
"Really?"
"Yes Mummy, Daddy's taking us to Dreamworld, and SeaWorld, and Movie world."
"And can we go to Wet and Wild too, Daddy?" Beth begged from the back.
Mark shifted in his seat and glared into the backseat.
"If you girls don't shut up back there, I'll pull this car up right now and leave you in the middle of the freeway."
Ash gasped as Beth's eyes filled with tears. Ash let go of the seatbelt and reached her hand back and grabbed hold of Beth's fingers. She squeezed gently and pleaded silently for both the girls to sit quietly. The last thing she needed was for them to upset Mark. He'd never had any patience with the girls.
"Why are we going to Queensland Mark?"
"I've got a new job. I start next week. The house is leased, fully furnished." He glanced at her with disdain. "We'll go shopping when we get up there and get you some new clothes."
"I don't want to move to Queensland Mark." She commented softly. Ash was scared to speak, but not quite scared enough.
"I don't give a damn what you want. You're my wife and you'll bloody well do as you’re told!"
"You left us Mark."
He turned and glared at her. "Do you really want to do this now, in front of the girls, because I'm good to fight if you are Ash?"
She turned away and looked out the window, she hated that he'd always called her by full name, never any nicknames or pet names. She found it endearing in the beginning, but by the end it annoyed her. S
he was unsure what to do, she had no idea how to get them out of this mess, but it was a long drive to Queensland, there was no way he could drive the whole way straight through, he'd have to stop to sleep on the way so maybe she would be able to sneak away with the girls while he slept.
****
Tyson pulled up in front of the offices of Storm and Masters and met the officers who were walking out the doors.
"He's not here Tyson." Officer Sanders said as he walked up to them.
"Is he due in soon?"
"Nope, apparently he handed in his notice last week. Yesterday was his last day. He won't be back. According to his receptionist he starts at a firm up in Queensland next week."
What the fuck! Tyson thought.
"If he's relocating interstate, why the hell did he kidnap his daughters and ex-wife?"
"Are you sure he's kidnapped them? Maybe she wanted to go to Queensland."
"Sanders, I personally saw how terrified she was of this man. She wouldn't risk going back to him for a trip to Queensland."
"Wouldn't be the first time a woman's gone back to a man she's scared of, especially if she's struggling and lonely."
"Except she is neither struggling nor lonely; she is in another relationship with a man who obviously loves her, and who she seems to love in return, one she's not scared of. The only reason she went with this arse is because he threatened her with her kids, and she's the type of mother who'd die to protect her kids."
"Well, there's no point is us waiting around here. He won't be back."
"Yeah. Okay. Go back to the station. I'll meet you there."
Tyson got back in his car and called Connor, if he had any lead on where they might be headed, he needed to know.
"Callum." Connor answered.
"He has the girls Connor, he has Ash, and he's headed to Queensland; he’s starting a new job up there next week."
"She would not have gone with him voluntarily."
"I know, but finding them might be a problem. I've put a warrant out on his registration but unless he drives through a checkpoint or past a camera car, we don't know where he is."
"Yes we do." Connor said emphatically, "Startrust Security is following them."